The team at Breathing Buildings has been advocating the benefits of mixing ventilation enshrined in the patent since the company’s formation as a spin out from Cambridge University in 2006.
Breathing Buildings has built up a wealth of knowledge and experience in delivering and controlling these innovative solutions and is delighted that the European Patent Office (EPO) has upheld the patent.
The judgement in Munich means that in the UK and various other countries only Breathing Buildings is allowed to manufacture products which are covered by the patent.
Following the success of the e-stack natural ventilation mixing system, the parent company of Passivent filed papers with the EPO opposing the grant of the Cambridge University patent to the Passive Stack. The Breathing Buildings e-stack product range is derived from the patent, which was filed in 2006, and granted in Europe in 2012.
Passivent’s parents company filed papers at the EPO arguing that the patent should not have been granted. These papers included a written letter from Nick Hopper, the technical director of Monodraught.
The hearing was held in Munich at the EPO on 11 March 2014. The Opposition Division rejected the opposition in its entirety. It found the Cambridge University patent novel and inventive. As a result, the patent was maintained in its original form and without need for amendment.
Shaun Fitzgerald, managing director of Breathing Buildings (pictured above) says, “When we filed the Cambridge University patent we knew we were onto a big thing. No-one had previously understood the energy savings achieved by mixing in a natural ventilation scheme. All the natural ventilation systems on the market when we filed the invention simply dumped cold air in winter, or used energy-hungry radiators to try and overcome cold draughts.”
The e-stack products have changed the natural ventilation industry since they allow natural ventilation to be used in winter and mitigate cold draughts by using the heat gains in a building, rather than requiring the use of radiators.
Building designers and users have known for a long time that cold draughts or excessive heating bills in winter have been the Achilles heel of natural ventilation. It now appears that in addition to Breathing Buildings this is accepted by other manufacturers too. Breathing Buildings’ e-stack product range uses Cambridge University’s patented technology to overcome this issue, thus making it an extremely efficient and cost effective natural ventilation system.
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Breathing Buildings
Breathing Buildings plays a pivotal role in the UK’s Green Building sector by significantly reducing the energy required for heating and ventilating buildings. The company’s patented e-stack system provides low energy ventilation using the principles of mixing ventilation in winter and natural upward displacement ventilation in the summer. www.breathingbuildings.co.uk
Background information
Passivent offers natural ventilation and daylighting products.
Monodraught provides products delivering natural lighting, ventilation and cooling.
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For further information please contact Sophie French or Kate Bowden Smith
Tel: + 44 (0)1394 276923 or Mob: + 44 (0)7808 901387
or Email: kate@pier-marketing.com or sophie@pier-marketing.com
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